Back to back...

Haven't seen me in awhile?  I've been a busy bee..

 

Back-to-back cover stories on Katy Perry and Kings of Leon for Athens Blur magazine!  For those of you not living in Athens who can't get your hands on copies of the mag, these stories are up on my portfolio. Both were a lot of fun to write and were interesting stories to tell. I'll cop to Katy Perry being a guilty pleasure (have you not heard "Hot and Cold"? I can't get that song outta my head!) and, I gotta say, I'm impressed with how far Kings of Leon have come. I caught the band live years ago opening for The Stokes (with an as-yet-unheard of Regina Spektor!) and although their live show was spot-on, it's not until their most recent albums that the band has really hooked me. It's interesting what trading in strong southern rock roots (and coifs!) will get you. 

Anyway, if you live out in UGA country, do pick up a copy of the mag. It's free, it's pretty and it has a lot of fun articles (besides mine *shameless grin*). 

Also, for those that follow the publications I write for, the folks over at Stereo Subversion just pulled off a snazzy site redesign. Go check out the goodness over there and wish them a happy belated 1 year anniversary! The editor there is a super guy and he's done a wonderful job with the site in such a short time. 

Nat-attack out!

Digging through the backlogs...

[Originally posted July 19, 2008]

The first interview I ever did was with the Dandy Warhols back in 2003. It was just after the release of Welcome to the Monkey House and their solo tour stopped in Atlanta (at the now defunct Cotton Club) where they put on an awesome three-hour show.

Looking back, I was still pretty naïve about some things (I was a very young 20 years old), but incredibly intuitive about others. I asked great, well-researched questions and everything went really well, much to my surprise. It is still the only tour bus I’ve ever been on.

I also got stopped at the door, and their manager had never heard of me. Somehow, after several desperate phone calls and pleas to the powers that be, I made it work. I got the interview and was able to bring my sister and good friend Phil into the show with me. It wouldn’t be the first time, though, that there would be problems, but that was just another reason why it was a great learning (and life) experience. Especially since I was so determined. I almost think I had more balls back then than I do now, which is shocking to think back on.

Most of all, I was honest. I walked in, nervous as hell, and just admitted it was the first interview I’d ever done. And I’m glad I did it. It was an important lesson: always be honest and be yourself. Chances are, they will be too.

Now, the article I wrote certainly has its flaws—cheese, grammar mistakes—but the prose is better than some of the printed articles that followed it. Reading it again so many years later, it still captures so much of that night so that I can again picture it clearly in my head. I have been more displeased with articles I’ve written in the past 12 months than I am of that article. Well, almost.

The poster from that show still hangs on the wall in my living room and I still keep tabs on the buttons they gave me—one of every kind they had to go on the super-emo purse I carried at the time. They’re good reminders of where I started, and where I still want to go.

Read the article here.

My Aim is True

[Originally posted July 1, 2008]

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. It's really a stupid thing to want to do." -Elvis Costello

It may seem strange that this is one of my favorite quotes. I am a music journalist, after all, but I have to say that decision has served me well so far. I love this quote, though, because it reminds me what I love about this job.

To me, music journalism is about more than "writing about music." It’s about the people behind it and the people it touches. It’s about the stories behind the songs, and the stories that happen because of them. It’s about how it changes the artist and the listener. It’s about picking the brains of some of the most talented and interesting people in the public eye.

It’s also fucking awesome.

However, even the best critics would be remiss to say that they write exclusively about music (and the best critics probably never would). In my mind, it is impossible to be a rock scribe and discuss only the sounds. Reviews that only comment on instrumentation and lyrics, without discussing the greater implications for the band, album or listener, would be bland, dull, boring. As Radiohead claims, anyone can play guitar. What’s important is why, how, and what makes any band or album great. It doesn’t always come down to technical skill (in fact, in my experience this is rarely the case).

You don’t have to be the best player or singer to change the entire face of music. Just ask John Lydon,

So I disagree with Elvis Costello in saying. Writing about music is undoubtedly a challenge—how do you translate sound and feeling into words?—but at its best it says something about people: who the artists are who create it and who we are for loving it. And that is a pursuit well worth the effort.

So welcome to dancing about architecture. Get ready for music, culture and random thoughts.